Meet The Props

When I photograph something for Schaufenster, I sometimes use random props like this vintage globe on a Bakelite stand (which, by the way, I got for free along with a truck load of other amazing things from an old lady's house in the middle of b.f. Brandenburg, but that is another story for another time....) Mostly, however, I use the same props again and again and I've gotten kind of fond of each one. Because of this, I thought I'd write a post to introduce you to my little Schaufenster Art & Vintage family. Here goes:

1. Otto, the Sekretär


Nearly all the photographs I take for Schaufenster are on top of good old Otto. Otto is a late 19th century Biedermeier secretary roll-top desk. He is an heirloom from Jasper's family that he inherited when his step-mother passed away around eight years ago. At the time Jasper didn't really even want to have Otto. He was still a bachelor living in a sparsely furnished apartment with a mattress on the floor. "What, are you crazy??" his brother said and then basically forced him to take the desk home with him when they cleaned out her apartment. I have one smart brother-in-law!

2. Trixie, the Two-Holed Vase




Trixie, a vintage 1950s vase, is actually for sale at Schaufenster. I've used her so much that I would feel a little bit sad if someone finally bought her. But I'd also get over it...You can take Trixie home with you with one easy click of a button if you go here.

3. Weeping Walter, the Very Sad Cow



Jasper's stepmother was, among other things, an artist and ceramist. Weeping Walter is one in a series of cow sculpture she made. Both Jasper and I think he looks sort of melancholy and maybe a little repressed, but then his stepmother was a rather stern person, so I guess the feeling fits.

4. Hank the Hand




Hank the hand is another of his stepmother's pieces that Jasper inherited. I am very fond of Hank as he is rather odd and masterfully crafted. I've heard before that hands are very hard to paint. I suppose they are also hard to sculpt, so I'm glad we have little Hank.

5. Arnie, the Arzberg Vase



Arnie is a vintage 1960s Arzberg vase in a very mod style that I gave Jasper for Christmas this year. Both he and I are really big fans of Arzberg porcelain, or at least their design classic series. They also did a lot of really kitschy stuff that I still like as it is extremely high quality. Jasper can't handle it though. It reminds him way too much of his grandmother. I guess I have the foreigners license to see the beauty in it.

6. Tick, Trick, Track und Onkel Dagobert, the Mid-Century Handmade Danish Design Candle Holders



These lovely teak candle holders were another of my Christmas presents to Jasper this year. I named them Tick, Trick, Track and Onkel Dagobert which are the German names for Huey, Dewey, Louie and Uncle Scrooge of Donald Duck fame. In Germany, instead of Duckville, they all live in Entenhausen (Ente=Duck in German).
Both Arnie and Tick, Trick, Track und Onkel Dagobert were bought at the fabulous ebay shop, Esthetiko. And yes, in case you're wondering, they do ship internationally.

7. Hermann the Horse




Hermann is new to the Schaufenster family, although I've had him a while. I bought him this past summer from a couple of kids. When the weather is nice in the summer, kids in Berlin like to set up shop with a blanket laid out on the sidewalk where they sell some of their beat-up old toys. I remember also being a young entreprenuer, with lots of get-rich schemes like selling painted rocks for five bucks a pop or the iron ore I collected from the desert sand with a magnet which I was sure must be worth a fortune. Once, when we were at my grandparent's cabin in Flagstaff, my sister, brother and I even made our own Fred Flintstone's Place out of old refrigerator boxes. The admission fee was only 6 dollars, yet no one came. Remembering our disappointment and because I like to make their day (as well as Miss Mia's and Baby Li's who, of course, adore presents) I always buy something from every kid blanket station I see. I think I paid about a Euro for Hermann. He is signed with some ballpoint scribbles on the side you can't see which makes him truly one of a kind.

To sign this post off, and to go off somewhat on a tangent, here is the link to Fred Flintstone's Place which is on a highway somewhere close to the Grand Canyon: Flintstone's Bedrock City. If you're ever in the area you should definitely stop by because it is bad-ass, or at least I thought it was when I was ten. ;)